To effectively implement its commitments for the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) framework, the Ministry of Finance has rolled out an international software solution from Vizor AEOI Software.

The Bahamas will use the Vizor AEOI solution to meet its commitment under the CRS and to continue honouring its exchange commitment under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with the IRS.

The first CRS exchanges of information by The Bahamas to partner jurisdictions will occur in September 2018 and continue each year thereafter.

“The Ministry of Finance is upgrading its digital infrastructure in a number of areas to strengthen its international compliance activities. This new software platform will enhance substantially our capacity to meet our local and international reporting requirements and commitments consistent with global standards of efficiency and efficacy. The Ministry of Finance is pleased to work with Vizor, a leading provider of cross-border tax information exchange solutions, to meet our goal of maintaining a well-regulated and transparent environment,” said Marlon Johnson, Acting Financial Secretary.

The Bahamas signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters on December 15, 2017, making The Bahamas the 116th jurisdiction to join. On the same date, The Bahamas also signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, and joined the inclusive framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

A notable feature of the Vizor AEOI solution is an easy to use online portal, accessible by Bahamian financial institutions to register and report the required account data, either via a manual entry option or via XML, to the Competent Authority. This will help ensure maximum compliance from financial institutions in the first year of reporting.

The Visor solution was selected via an open bid process in December of last year. The value of the contract is $1,745,000 for a period of five years.

The Vizor AEOI solution is already used by Competent Authorities in over ten jurisdictions to meet their FATCA, CRS and CbC Reporting requirements.